After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

Chen Futu led the team into the town. Looking around, the once peaceful town was no longer peaceful. Many houses were collapsed or burned down, as if it had been looted.

Having finally encountered some common people, Chen Futu asked, "We are merchants. May I ask, sir, what has happened here?"

"Merchants? You'd better leave quickly, or the bandits from the Liangshan Mountains will come and you might not be able to escape."

"Bandits?"

"Yes, they just looted our area not long ago. They stormed into people's homes, robbing them of money and grain, and even taking pretty girls. They were worse than pigs and dogs." The man shook his head and sighed.

Chen Futu then asked, "Don't the government troops care?"

The man was furious upon hearing this. "You mean that General Liu? He's far inferior to General Sun. We can't count on him to guard the border. He doesn't even dare to fight bandits. He claims to be following the imperial orders to preserve our strength and guard against Qin Liangyu's sneak attack. Bah!"

The man grew angrier as he spoke, “He should take a piss and look at himself in the mirror. Does he deserve to stand up to Qin Liangyu? If it weren’t for the Xuan Shui Alliance, he would have run away long ago.”

The man's outburst left Chen Futu and his party speechless.

It is clear that the people here are extremely angry about the killing of Sun Chengzong. In particular, Liu Bainian is a coward who, despite having a large army, does not stand up for the people. He is not even as good as a hair on Sun Chengzong's leg, let alone able to confront Qin Liangyu.

At least when Sun Chengzong was in power, the bandits were so frightened that they all hid. This is the difference between a famous general and a mediocre one.

Chen Futu gave this hot-tempered man a tael of silver and then inquired about some information.

For example, this place is under the control of the bandits of the Liangshan Mountains. At first, Chen Futu thought he had misheard. After confirming it several times, the old man said with a self-deprecating smile, "You heard right. This place is no longer under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. It has completely become the backyard of those bandits. They can come and go as they please. Damn it, I have to pack my things and go to the northern frontier. I can't live like this anymore!"

The man left in a hurry after he finished speaking.

Hua Yu touched the hideous ghost face and sighed, "The court is so incompetent, how innocent the people are."

Chen Futu neither agreed nor disagreed, and continued to urge his horse forward.

Along the way, they saw an old man weeping while holding his daughter's body. They asked around and learned that the girl was a respectable woman who had been tortured to death by bandits. Her body had been dumped in a mountain valley and was retrieved by the old man.

"A sin!"

"Yes, I don't know when this will end."

"Why doesn't the Northern Frontier King attack the Northern Mountain Range? If he did, our lives would be better!"

The people also expressed their resentment towards Chen Futu in their conversations.

In their minds, it didn't matter who was emperor, as long as everyone could eat and dress warmly. Besides, Sun Chengzong was no longer around, so why would the King of the Northern Frontier care about any alliance? He could just come and kill them.

Chen Futu listened to these discussions and was speechless for a moment.

It wasn't that he didn't want to fight, but the timing wasn't right. Firstly, the Northern Mountains were indefensible, and secondly, the area was in complete chaos. The King of the Northern Frontier wasn't a god; where would he get so many resources to rebuild homes for the people in this war-torn land? Ultimately, the Northern Frontier lacked sufficient resources. He had already exhausted his energy maintaining the development of the Northern Frontier and the livelihoods of its people. Without a long period of development and accumulation of resources, it would be impossible for him to swallow up such a large territory again.

Actually, conquering the Northern Mountains would be easy, but the people's hearts are restless, and it would be extremely troublesome to manage. It would be better to let Chu Jiang secretly take control, restore some order and people's livelihood first, and it would be easier to restore things after taking over in the future.

Tonight, the group stayed at a local family's home.

The head of the household is an elderly man in his eighties, and he lives alone.

Chen Futu asked, "Old man, where are your wife and children?"

The old man waved his hand shakily and said in a hoarse voice, "Dead, all dead."

"What caused his death?"

"My son joined the army and died on the battlefield. My daughter-in-law had a difficult childbirth, and we couldn't afford a midwife, so she and her unborn child died. My daughter married a gambling addict and was eventually sold to a wealthy family as a maid, where she was beaten to death. And my wife was beheaded by bandits a few days ago; her body is still lying in the backyard. Do you want to see it?"

The old man poured a bowl of water and handed it to him.

Chen Futu stared blankly at his wooden and aged appearance, and fell silent once again.

"Old Dian, help with the burial."

Chen Futu gave the order, and Dian Wei immediately led several men to the backyard.

The old man neither stopped them nor said thank you.

For him, the world was beyond saving. He was like a walking corpse, and he didn't care about any amount of charity. In fact, if Chen Futu killed him with a knife, he would thank him instead.

"Young man, could I do you a favor?"

During dinner that evening, Chen Futu brought some food to the old man, but the old man did not eat it and instead said the following.

Chen Futu put down his chopsticks and replied, "I am staying here temporarily, so it is only right that I help. Please speak frankly, old man."

The old man's cloudy eyes seemed dull. Finally, he took out a small box and placed it in front of him. "There's nothing of value in the house, except for an inkstone passed down from our ancestors. Perhaps a wealthy young man like you can use it."

This is a Yunbai inkstone, and it is in excellent condition.

His daughter-in-law couldn't afford a midwife, resulting in the death of both mother and child. It wasn't that he was reluctant to take out the inkstone, but rather that it was useless to him; a poor man like him had no way to sell it.

"You want me to sell them for you?"

Chen Futu was quite fond of the inkstone, which showed that the family's ancestors must have been extremely wealthy, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to afford such a priceless treasure.

"I'm giving it to you as a way of repaying your kindness."

After saying this, the old man leaned on his cane and shakily returned to his room.

Chen Futu didn't sleep well that night; the sound of crying could be heard from the streets outside from time to time, which was quite eerie.

Even though Ake was standing right next to the bed, Chen Futu was startled awake several times. In his daze, he saw the dead people in the family: the headless old woman, the son who died on the battlefield, the daughter covered in blood, and a woman holding a child standing beside him, staring blankly without saying a word.

Ake asked in bewilderment, "Why is Your Majesty so frightened?"

“This place is not a battlefield, but a human place, yet so many people have still died. I feel deeply guilty, and therefore my mind is uneasy.”

Chen Futu was telling the truth.

The decline of the Great Qian Dynasty to its current state is partly due to his machinations, yet as the King of the Northern Frontier, he has no choice but to do so if he desires to conquer the world.

Throughout history, how many emperors did not march forward through mountains of corpses and seas of blood?

Ake whispered, "I don't understand those things, but I will protect the King, and no demons or monsters will be able to get close."

"That's all..."

Chen Futu waved his hand, turned over, and continued sleeping.

In a daze, I heard sobbing transform into howling and wailing outside the window.

At dawn, Chen Futu groggily got up, and Dian Wei rushed over, saying, "Your Majesty, that old man has hanged himself."

"what?"

Chen Futu was shocked. He rushed to the room without even putting on his outer robe, only to see the old body hanging from the rafters, already dead.